For many years Father Jim Kelly was dedicated to developing the administration at Glenmary Headquarters, but has recently found himself in a new round of activities as a mountain pastor. The blanket symbolizes Operation Warmth, an ecumenical project which provides new blankets, quilts, and emergency fuel to needy families.

Father James Kelly was a friendly bureaucrat for years. As secretary to Glenmary's founder, managing editor of GLENMARY'S CHALLENGE, Vocations Director, Treasurer General, Council member, Research Department head, promotion executive, and Assemblyman, the image of administrator settled over him like early morning fog off the river. The image was incomplete, however, because at the same time Father Jim was engaged in numerous spiritual projects, charismatic prayer groups, spiritual counseling, and days of recollection, as well as being a confirmed outdoorsman, mountain hiker, and camper.

So it went for nearly thirty years, until Father Kelly was invited to serve as pastor of Jackson County, North Carolina, which has a church at Sylva, and a Catholic campus ministry center for Western Carolina University students at Cullowee, eight miles down the road. He found a bustling parish, studded with highly qualified people from the university, engaged in various pursuits in cooperation with other Christian bodies. Operation Warmth, which provides new blankets, quilts, and emergency fuel for needy families suffering from the cold in their poorly insulated homes, is sponsored by the Interchurch Group of Sylva, but operates out of Saint Mary's Center. Father Jim's 173 parishioners are alert to the feeling of mountain self-sufficiency which prevents two-thirds of the eligible hungry mouths from receiving food through the food stamp program. They are attempting to make the assistance available without damage to personal dignity.

One of the most significant developments in the parish is the Marriage Encounter movement. Twenty-seven couples are meeting monthly to upgrade Christianity in family life and bring spiritual renewal within the Church. Mr. and Mrs. Hugh McDonald, members of his parish, have become the lead couple who conduct encounter meetings all over the western part of North Carolina. Father Kelly attends the monthly meetings, and has helped carry the word to the Episcopal and Presbyterian churches, making Marriage Encounter an ecumenical adventure as well.

Three mornings a week at 6:15 a.m. Father Jim works out with an adult fitness group. This involves calisthenics and a two-mile jog under a professional coach, Dr. Pilch. This keeps him in prime condition for an occasional two-day jaunt along the Appalachian Trail which passes close to his parish.

The Jackson County Ministerial Association functions effectively with Father Kelly deeply involved. The ministers rotate as devotional radio preachers on Station WRGC, sponsor a chaplain at the C. J. Harris Memorial Hospital, and hold joint retreats for the ministers. Father Kelly also works with a third ministerial group, the campus ministers of Cullowee, who sponsor spiritual events for the academic community, such as "The Hiding Place," an extraordinary prisoner of war film, and plan joint worship services at the university.

These groups have brought more than blankets and oil to the needy. They have shared with each other the warmth of friendship and a demonstration to the community of what Christianity ought to mean in terms of brotherhood and the love of Christ.